Far Eastern fish of the herring family. Herring family: brief description of species, features, habitat, photos and names of fish. Types and varieties

The herring family includes about a hundred species of fish that live from the shores of the Arctic to the Antarctic itself. Most of them are very popular in cooking and are caught all over the globe. Let's find out which fish belong to the herring family. How are they characterized and how do they differ from other species?

General characteristics of the family

The herring family includes ray-finned fish of medium and small sizes. They feed on aquatic plants and microorganisms, mainly plankton, as well as tiny fish. Very often, herrings unite in numerous schools of hundreds, or even thousands of individuals. Thus, they provide themselves with protection from predators, because in a group the chances of being eaten are greatly reduced.

Like fish species of the carp family, herrings lack adipose fins. They have an oval, laterally compressed body, colored in gray and bluish shades. The tail of fish usually consists of two identical parts, between which there is a deep notch. There is only one fin on the back, the lateral line is absent or has a short length. There are no scales on the head of herrings, and some species do not even have scales on the body.

Species of the herring fish family

They prefer salty waters and are inhabitants of seas and open ocean spaces. However, in the herring family there are also inhabitants of fresh rivers and lakes, as well as anadromous species that swim into non-salty bodies of water exclusively during migration. Most of them live in the tropics and subtropics; in cold seas they are much less common.

Many species of fish of the herring family are important fisheries and are regularly present on store shelves. The most famous representatives:

• European sardine;
• Pacific herring;
• Atlantic menhaden;
• big-eyed sprat;
• Black Sea-Caspian kilka;
• ilisha eastern;
• alasha;
• belly;
• herring;
• iwasi;
• round belly herring.

Atlantic herring

This fish of the herring family has many names. It is called Murmansk, Norwegian, oceanic, multivertebral and, finally, Atlantic. She lives in the northern regions Atlantic Ocean, swimming in the Baltic Sea, the Gulf of Bothnia, the White, Barents and Labrador and other seas.

It is colored light silver with a dark green or bluish back. The size of the fish reaches an average of 25 centimeters, some individuals grow up to 40-45 centimeters. It can weigh a maximum of 1 kilogram. It received the name “multivertebral” because of the large number of vertebral ridges (55-60 pieces), which distinguishes it from other brethren. Her palatine teeth are well developed, and her lower jaw is noticeably moved forward.

In warm seasons, herring stay close to the surface, no deeper than 200–300 meters; in winter, they move lower into the water column. It represents one of the most common species of the herring family, and marine fish in general. Atlantic herring live in large schools and feed mainly on crustaceans, such as amphipods and calanoids. Sometimes it eats small fish and even its own brothers.

Salaka

Herring, or Baltic herring, is considered a subspecies of Atlantic herring. It lives in the Baltic Sea, as well as in nearby low-salt and fresh water bodies, such as the Curonian and Kalingrad Lagoons. The fish is also found in some lakes in Sweden.

She has an elongated body, a small rounded head and a slightly rounded belly. At the age of two to four years, the fish reaches 15-16 centimeters in length, and by the end of its life it can grow up to 20 centimeters. There are also larger representatives, which are often considered a separate subspecies and are called giant herrings. They can even reach 40 centimeters in length and feed on small fish like sticklebacks, while small herrings eat exclusively plankton. In the waters of the Baltic Sea they have several competitors, which also belong to the herring family. These are sprat and sprats, whose food also includes plankton from copepods.

Herring is actively used in Food Industry. They catch it throughout the year. The fish is suitable for salting, smoking, frying and baking. Canned food and preserves are often made from it under the names “sprats in oil” or “anchovies”.

Far Eastern sardine

Ivasi, or Far Eastern sardine, is a valuable commercial fish of the herring family. It belongs to the genus Sardinops and is similar to the Californian and South American sardines. The body of the fish is very elongated. Its abdomen is painted a light silver color, and its back is very dark and has a blue tint. The transition between the two color schemes is indicated by a thin blue stripe with black spots along it.

The size of the fish usually does not exceed 20-30 centimeters. Moreover, its weight is only 100-150 grams. She has a thin tail with a deep notch in the middle. At the end it is painted dark, almost black.

Sardine loves warmth and stays in the upper layers of water. It gathers in large schools, the length of which can reach 40 meters. This fish lives in the western part of the Pacific Ocean and is found off the coast of the Far East of Russia, Japan and Korea. During warm periods it can reach Kamchatka and the northern tip of Sakhalin. Sardines do not tolerate sudden drops in temperature. A sudden cold snap of 5-6 degrees can lead to massive fish death.

The Far Eastern sardine is divided into two subtypes, which differ in spawning locations and periods. The southern subtype spawns near the Japanese island of Kyushu, arriving there as early as December-January. Northern sardines begin spawning in March, swimming to the shores of Honshu Island and the Korean Peninsula.

Atlantic menhaden

Atlantic menhaden is a medium-sized fish. Adults, as a rule, reach a length of 20-32 centimeters, but some can grow up to 50 centimeters. Menhaden have a large head and higher sides than herring and sardines. The color of the fish is light below and dark on the back. The sides are covered with small, unevenly distributed scales. Behind the operculum there is a large black spot, and behind it there are six more rows of small spots.

In our area, menhaden is not the most famous member of the herring family. It lives in the Atlantic Ocean, off the coast of North America. Approximately 90% of the total volume of this fish caught is in the United States. Its usual diet consists of plankton, seaweed and small copepods. Menhaden itself often becomes prey for whales, waterfowl and pollock.

In winter, the fish stays in the open ocean, not diving to a depth below 50 meters. With the arrival of the warm season, it moves towards the coast, often swimming into closed reservoirs. Menhaden are not found in fresh waters, but can live in slightly saline ones. In summer, fish swim in the shelf area, in deltas and near river mouths.

This very fatty and nutritious fish is a valuable commercial species. However, catching her is not easy. To do this, you need to take into account a lot of factors related to the movement and speed of sea currents, wind direction and other external factors.

Tulka is a genus of small fish of the herring family that live in fresh and brackish waters. The Black Sea-Caspian sprat, or sausage, grows on average to 7–8 centimeters, and the maximum size reaches 15 centimeters. In this case, the fish reaches sexual maturity when its body length reaches 5 centimeters. Due to its diminutive size, it becomes prey for even medium-sized species. It is hunted by flounder, pike perch and other representatives of the herring family. The sprat itself feeds exclusively on plankton.

The sprat is painted silver or golden yellow, and its back has a greenish or blue tint. The fish lives in the Black, Caspian and Azov seas, swimming in the water column. During spawning, it visits low-salinity areas of the seas, enters their estuaries, as well as the Dnieper and Danube.

Migration towards the main spawning grounds takes place in April-May. During such seasonal movements, fish are usually caught. It is consumed salted, smoked and dried, and is also used in agricultural products.

European sprat

Sprat is a small commercial fish of the herring family, colored in silver-gray shades. It is usually slightly larger in size than a sprat and reaches sexual maturity only when it grows to 12 centimeters in length. The maximum size of the fish is 15-16 centimeters. Fish spawning time occurs in the spring and summer. Then it moves away from the shores and throws its eggs directly into the sea to a depth of 50 meters. Like others small fish of the herring family, it feeds on plankton and fry.

European sprat, or sprat, includes three subspecies: northern (Western and Southern Europe), Black Sea (Adriatic and Black Sea) and Baltic (Gulfs of Riga and Finland of the Baltic Sea). Canned fish with butter is very tasty and is popular at the holiday table. For this preparation, the Baltic subspecies is usually used - it is larger and fattier than the others. Black Sea sprat is usually used to make pates or salt it whole. In wildlife, it is a valuable source of energy for dolphins, belugas and large fish.

Alasha

Alasha, or sardinella, is a medium-sized fish found in warm tropical and subtropical waters. She inhabits the waters of the Atlantic - from the shores of Gibraltar to Republic of South Africa, from Massachusetts in the USA to the coast of Argentina. The fish lives in the Caribbean Sea, near the Bahamas and the Antilles. Because of this, it is also called tropical sardine.

The sides and belly of the alasha are painted golden yellow, and its back has a green tint. Externally, this fish of the herring family resembles an ordinary European sardine, differing from it in a more elongated body and convex belly. On average, it grows to 25–35 centimeters in length. It reaches its maximum size at the age of five, and already in the first or second year of life it reaches sexual maturity.

Sardinella feeds on plankton and stays in the upper layers of the ocean. It usually swims at a depth of 50-80 meters, but from time to time it can descend to 350 meters. Thanks to living in warm bodies of water, it does not wait for the onset of spring, but spawns all year round. The fish lays its eggs in the shallow waters of lagoons and river estuaries, where the fry then develop.

American shad

The American or Atlantic shad is one of the largest marine fish of the herring family. On average, it grows to 40-50 centimeters. However, the maximum length of the caught fish reached 76 centimeters, and its weight was about five kilograms. The shad is light silver in color with a dark blue tint on the back. Its body is flattened laterally and extended forward, and its belly is slightly convex and rounded. Behind the gills there is a row of black dots, decreasing in size as they move away towards the tail.

Initially, the shad's homeland was the waters of the Atlantic from the island of Newfoundland to the Florida peninsula. Over time, it was successfully acclimatized along the eastern shores of the Pacific Ocean, as well as in some rivers of North America. But shad do not live in fresh waters. There it is migratory and appears only during the spawning season from March to May. The rest of the time, the fish lives in the salty waters of the seas and oceans.

Despite the impressive size of the shad, the basis of its diet is plankton, small crustaceans and fry. In rivers it can feed on the larvae of various insects. Fish spawn when they reach the age of four years. In the spring, females go to shallow water and release up to 600 thousand eggs, without attaching them to any substrate. Inhabitants of more southern regions usually die immediately after spawning. Fish in the northern part of their range, on the contrary, return to the open sea to produce new offspring the following year.

Eastern Ilisha

Another tropical representative of the family is the ilish herring. It lives in the warm waters of the Indian and Pacific Oceans and is found mainly in the Yellow, Java and East China Seas. It easily tolerates low salinity, so it often swims to shallow waters near river mouths to spawn. To lay eggs, ilisha gathers in large flocks and migrates as part of a group. After spawning, the schools break up, and the fish one by one swim away from the coast.

Ilisha is a large species of herring: the maximum size can be 60 centimeters. She has a relatively small head with a protruding lower jaw. The body of the fish is gray-silver with a dark back and dark edging of the caudal fins. There is also a dark gray spot on the only dorsal fin.

Round belly herring

The genus of round bellies includes about ten species of small and medium-sized fish. All of them live in tropical and subtropical waters of the Indian, Atlantic and Pacific oceans. They differ from other members of the family by their spindle-shaped, rounded body and the absence of keel scales on the belly. These are popular commercial fish, which are caught for salting and canning. They are also eaten fried and boiled.

Common round bellies live in the northwestern part of the Atlantic from the Bay of Fundy off the coast of the United States to Gulf of Mexico. Like most herrings, they approach shallow waters only in the spring and summer, and with cold weather they return to the open sea. They stay close to the surface and feed mainly on zooplankton.

Round bellies grow up to 33 centimeters in length. At the age of two years, when the fish reach sexual maturity, they reach a length of 15–17 centimeters. Interestingly, females begin to lay eggs in winter. Therefore, in the summer, when the water gets warmer, not only adults swim to the shores, but also slightly older fry. They swim at a depth of 20-40 meters, without going lower. Fish live for about 6 years.

Spotted sardinella

Spotted sardinellas live exclusively in tropical waters with fairly high salinity. They are found from the coasts of East Africa and Madagascar to Australia, Oceania and the southern islands of Japan. The fish live in the Red, East China and other seas of their range. To spawn, they make short migrations within the water bodies in which they live.

This fish has an elongated body, shaped like a spindle. The maximum size is 27 centimeters, although sardinella usually reach only 20 centimeters. It is mainly caught for local consumption. Unlike most fish of the herring family, spotted sardinellas do not form schools or shoals, but swim alone, dispersing throughout the oceans. It can be salted or canned, but the fish is not caught on a large commercial scale.

Phylum Chordata – Chordata

Subphylum Vertebrata - Vertebrates

Superclass Gnatostomata - Gnathostomes

Class Actinopterygii – Ray-finned fish

Subclass Neopterydii – New-finned fish

Order Clupeiformes – Herrings

Family Clupeidae – Herrings

Alosacaspiacaspia - North Caspian belly

Alosakesslerikessleri – Blackback

Clupeaharengusharengus - Atlantic multivertebral herring

Clupeaharengusmembras - Salak, Baltic herring

Clupeapallasiipallasii - Pacific small-backed herring

Sprattussprattusbalticus - Baltic sprat, or sprat

Clupeonella cultriventris - Common sprat or sprat

Clupeonellaengrauliformes - Anchovy sprat

Clupeonellagrimmi - Big-eyed sprat

Sardinapilchardus - European sardine

Sardinopssagaxmelanosticta - Far Eastern sardine, or Iwasi sardine

The body shape is varied - from round in cross-section to laterally compressed. The mouth is terminal or semi-superior. The teeth on the jaws are small or missing. Keeled scales are usually present on the belly. These are predominantly marine, some anadromous, and a few freshwater fish in the waters of the World Ocean. They lead a gregarious lifestyle in coastal waters, feeding mainly on plankton. The maximum body length is up to 75 cm. Distributed from the Arctic to the Subantarctic, mostly living in the tropics. Have very important commercial value.

Herrings are primarily marine fishes, although there are freshwater and anadromous species. None of the species have scales on their heads; some species have no scales at all. The lateral line is short or absent, and the teeth are unusually small, with some species having no teeth at all.

Herrings spawn quite a large number of eggs (in some species up to 1,000,000 eggs). In most species, the eggs and larvae are planktonic. Adults usually swim in large schools.

Herring fish usually have a laterally compressed body. There is one dorsal fin, the pelvic fins are located under the dorsal fins. There is no lateral line on the body. There is a weak or clearly visible keel on the belly. Open vesicular. Most herring live in tropical waters. Herrings are schooling planktivorous fish, mostly marine, some of them anadromous and a few freshwater. Their length is mainly 30-40 cm. This family accounts for 20% of the world's fish catch. In our waters, herring of the genus Clupea - ocean herring and Clupeonella - kiln are of greatest commercial importance.

The herring family also includes the Far Eastern sardine, Baltic sprat (sprat), Black Sea sprat, sprat, Caspian sprat, herring. Fish of these species are used for the production of canned food in oil (sprats), the preparation of preserves with marinade, as well as salting and smoking.

The herring family is divided into three subfamilies: the herring proper - Atlantic, Pacific, White Sea, Caspian and Azov-Black Sea herring; sardines - sardines, sardinella, sardinops and small herrings - herring, sprat, sprat. Iwashi herring is a Far Eastern sardine.

Herrings are distinguished by an elongated, laterally compressed body, covered with easily falling cycloid scales; no lateral line, only one dorsal fin. Sardines and sardinops have dark spots along their bodies. Herring meat is bony, fatty, and ripens when salted.

The greatest commercial importance is the northern sea herring (Clupeaharengus) - a species widespread in the oceans and seas of the northern hemisphere and forming in their vastness a number of subspecies, among which we will name the Atlantic, Far Eastern, White Sea, Pechora herring; Herring also belongs to the same zoological species - a smaller (up to 20 cm) form, caught in the Baltic Sea and its bays.

The subject of fishing is also smaller species of the same herring family, such as sprat, a species caught in our Baltic and Black Seas, as well as sprat, or Caspian sprat (Clupeonelladelicatula), which lives not only in the Caspian, but also in the Azov and the Black Seas. And in the Far East, somewhat larger in size Iwasi, or Pacific sardine, is caught.

The herring family (Clupeidae) includes a large number of small and medium-sized fish. Their body is covered with light falling scales; the head is bare; no antennae. Due to the special shape of the scales, the belly sometimes looks like a sharp rib. The upper edge of the jaw is formed from the premaxillary and maxillary bones, and the upper jaw consists of at least three movably connected parts. Herrings lack an adipose fin. The gills are very developed; gill slits are wide; in some species the gill arches are densely covered with gill rakers, forming a good sieve, while in others (predatory) they are present only in small quantities. These gill rakers serve to filter the water and trap the smallest animals that the herring feed on. The stomach of herrings has a blind pouch, and the intestinal canal has numerous blind appendages. The swim bladder is simple and connected to the labyrinth by special bones.

Herring fish are found in the seas, and only a few of their species are migratory fish, that is, they enter rivers to spawn. Minor amount herring fish adapted to fresh water and lives in rivers and lakes. Herring feed on microscopic plant and animal organisms floating in the water (plankton), as well as small fish that they can swallow.

IN fisheries Herrings play a huge role and occupy first place among commercial fish. Common herring is caught by the billions and is distributed among all nations as a cheap fish. In the USSR, from 2,500 to 3,500 thousand centners of herring are caught annually. Recently, herring fisheries have been developing very strongly in the Far East and North.

Pacific herring, with its good taste, is now in great demand in the domestic markets of the USSR. Before the revolution, due to the backwardness of procurement and transportation methods, it was consumed only by the local population and, in addition to food, was used to fertilize fields. The herring family includes more than 60 species.

Sea herring (Clupea) have a strongly laterally compressed body. Their belly is rounded. The dorsal fin is located above the ventral fins. The lower jaw is longer than the upper jaw and has a special recess into which the edges of the upper jaw are inserted. The premaxillary and mandibular bones, as well as the tongue and vomer, are lined with small teeth. The free edges of the maxillary bones have small serrations. There are 8 gill rays on each side of the head. The greatest length of real herring is 37 and even 42 centimeters.

Common herring (Clupea harengus) and herring variety, found in our Gulf of Finland, have the following characteristics. On the vomer, small teeth are arranged in an oblong triangle. On the anterior gill arches there are each 65 to 70 thin and long gill rakers, similar to spines. On the preopercular bones there are tortuous grooves and filiform grooves. There are about 40 bony keel scales on the belly and 13 similar keel scales behind the ventral fins. The pelvic fins are located just below the dorsal fin. The common herring is colored bluish-green on top (back), and its sides and belly are white with a silvery sheen; fins are whitish-gray. The eyes are silver in color, often with a dark spot on the upper side. Sometimes there is a red-cheeked herring and, less often, all red or purple (Nikolsky).

The length of fish varies in different waters. Thus, Baltic herring and White Sea herring reach a length of 16 centimeters, Atlantic herring - 22 and Far Eastern herring - 30 centimeters.

1-finta (Alosa fintaj; 2-sprat (Spratella sprattus); 3-herring (Clupea harengus); 1/3 of the real size.

Common herring are found in all the northern seas of Europe, going down to the south of the Atlantic Ocean to the Bay of Biscay off the coast of Europe and to New York off the coast of America, and in the Pacific Ocean to San Diego, Hokkaido and Fuzan. Within the USSR, this type of herring lives in the White, Barents and Baltic seas, and in Far East Bering Sea, in the eastern part of the Sea of ​​Okhotsk, in the Strait of Tartary and in the northern part of the Sea of ​​Japan, but is not found in the Arctic Ocean along the coast of Siberia.

The common herring is an exclusively marine fish, which constantly wanders in search of food or, gathering in huge schools, makes significant movements to spawning sites, which are located in shallow water off the coast. In view of this, herring either stay in the open sea at considerable depth, or swim off the coast, enter bays and even river mouths.

Common herring forms numerous races that spawn at different times.

For example, in the Baltic Sea, spawning occurs in the “spring race” in April, and in the “autumn race” in August and September. In the waters of the Far East, southern races spawn in April-May, and more northern races spawn later, the closer to the north their habitat is. Herring spawn in open bays with reefs and rich vegetation, displaying enormous fertility. On average, each female spawns about 30 thousand eggs, which, given the countless number of spawning fish, completely ensures offspring.

The biggest catches of herring, as one might expect, occur during spawning. However, spawning occurs at different times, depending on weather conditions and other reasons. Fluctuations in terms vary from several days to several weeks. Fishermen have different signs by which they try to guess the arrival of herring in a particular place, but all these signs are not reliable. It often happens that one year there are huge numbers of herring near a place, but the next year only a few fish are found there. Only careful scientific research, which requires many years, makes it possible to accurately determine the routes and timing of the “herring run.” We are carrying out work in this direction while studying southern and northern species of herring.

In some years, herring approach the shores exclusively in huge schools. The fish move in a continuous mass for many kilometers in width and length. The herrings move close to each other, and the lower layers, pushing against the upper ones, push the mass of herrings upward, where they become easy prey for huge flocks of seagulls and other winged predators following the herrings.

The herring fishery has played and continues to play a huge role in the life of coastal states. Thus, the economic power of the famous Hanseatic League was largely based on herring. The Hanseatic people were the first to catch herring and dry salt it. If we take into account that salt in those days (XIII and XIV centuries) was an expensive commodity, then the high value of salted herring becomes clear. Hanseatic herring spread all over the world without competitors.

Later, the Dutch improved the technique of mass herring fishing on the high seas. But the main blow to the Hansa was dealt by the Dutch when they began to use brine in barrels. The herring power of Holland lasted until the publication of the famous Cromwell Navigation Act (17th century), which prohibited foreign ships from bringing goods to England and its colonies. From this time on, the herring fisheries of England and Scotland began to play a major role.

Now, in addition to the Dutch and English, common herring is caught by Norwegians, Swedes, Germans, Danes, Russians—in short, peoples living off the coast of the Atlantic Ocean, the German, Baltic and White Seas. Abroad, they catch herring with huge nets, consisting of dozens of small nets, so that the entire order of nets sometimes reaches 2 kilometers in length, covering a significant area of ​​water. These huge nets are woven from paper threads by machines, then tanned for strength. To catch herring, special vessels called “luggers” are equipped and sent to the open sea with a supply of provisions for 7-8 weeks. Luggers lower nets into the sea and float with them according to the will of the wind and sea currents. The caught fish is put into baskets and transferred to the hold. There are cases that one ship caught 120 barrels in one night, i.e. up to 80 thousand pieces of herring.

The herring is salted right there on the ship and sealed in barrels. The throat of a live fish is cut out, the liver and bile are removed, and they try to bleed it as much as possible. When the catch is especially large, the herring is salted directly without cleaning. In Scotland and Norway, where herring is caught close to the coast, salting is done on the shore. In Norway, herring fishing takes place in fjords (bays), where they are locked up special networks and then gradually they are caught.

Eastern herring (Clupea harengus paiiasi); 1/4 of the real size.

Within the USSR, herring fishing is carried out using seines, floating nets, fixed nets and locks in bays. For example, in the Caspian Sea and on its western (Caucasian) coast, herring is caught with seines. Here the catches reach enormous amounts - up to 8,200 centners per ton, i.e. over 50 carloads of fish at a time.

On the Volga, herring is caught with seines and floating nets, and in the northern Caspian Sea, herring, like all other fish, is caught with fixed nets.

The total herring catch off European coasts is approximately several billion each year.

In addition to the common herring, we have a fairly significant catch of its variety, herring, or herring (Clupea harengus, var. membras), which is carried out along the southern coast of the Gulf of Finland. New salmon is also caught near Kronstadt, from where it is delivered frozen to Leningrad.

In pre-war times, about 410 thousand centners, or 1 billion 760 million pieces, of common herring were caught in Russian waters. As for the White Sea, the annual catch there is estimated at 200 million pieces, or about 54,660 centners. In the Far East, 70 million pieces, or about 62,500 quintals, were mined. In the Barents Sea and on the Murmansk coast, fishing was insignificant - no more than 3 million pieces, or 820 quintals.

Fish production has been growing steadily in recent years. Thus, already in 1931 the annual catch was equal to 221 thousand centners, and in 1934 it already exceeded 1 million centners. Currently, the Far Eastern fishery is developing especially strongly, as well as the White Sea fishery, revived thanks to the Murmansk railway and the White Sea-Baltic Canal.

The eastern herring (Clupea harengus pallasi) is very similar to the common herring. Her lower jaw protrudes forward. The abdomen in front of the ventral fins is very slightly compressed laterally, and behind these fins it has serrations. The gill rakers are very thin and long. There are small numbers of teeth on the tongue and premaxillary bones. The body is bluish above; sides are silver. The length of the eastern herring sometimes reaches 46 centimeters.

Eastern herring is found in the Sea of ​​Okhotsk and Bering Sea. Here it is found off the coast of the Kamchatka Peninsula, off the coast of Sakhalin Island and the Commander Islands, as well as off the mainland coast in the vicinity of Vladivostok. Here the mass movement of herring is so great that it allows you to catch it in huge quantities without special effort and costs. The trades are justified even when preparing such a cheap product as fertilizing fertilizer, which is the case here on the western coast of Sakhalin. This is where the warm Tsushima Current ends. To the north of this current, where the waters are colder, the herring movement weakens. Thus, in the vicinity of Douai and Aleksandrovsk, herring does not come in such innumerable quantities to justify the fertilizer fishery. Meanwhile on southern Sakhalin sometimes it’s as if the sea itself takes care of people and in spring storms throws whole piles of fish ashore.

For example, in April 1899, near Korsakovsk, a storm washed a huge amount of herring onto the shore, laying it in a pile. Local settlers arrived with carts and cartloads of fish.

Much less herring is found off the coast of the Kamchatka Peninsula and off the mainland coast.

Herring usually appear on all of the above mentioned coasts, as well as on the western coasts Japanese islands Nippon and Jesso in the spring, but exact dates occurrences vary greatly depending on location and meteorological conditions. The first appearance of herring catches your eye - the fish immediately rush to the shore in huge masses. Usually, before and after spawning, herring stay in the open sea, but with the onset of spring they gather in shoals (flocks) and the whole mass rolls to the shore, where they walk in schools almost at the very bottom, choosing places for spawning. The fish here, as industrialists put it, “walk” for a day or two at a depth of 7-9 meters, then come close to the shore and spawn in the thickets of coastal algae. Having spawned, the herring soon leaves the coast, after which there is a break of almost two weeks, when very few herring are found near the coast. After this time, the second move or several small moves begin, continuing until the third move, which ends in the first half of June. In some fisheries, a fourth move is also observed, closer to the end of June. The first move is the most abundant with fish and the most important commercially. If industrialists manage to catch the required amount of fish in the first two to four days of the move, they are provided for for the year. If some of them miss the first move or fail, then in the remaining moves they will be able to improve their affairs little.

In winter, all herring fisheries are usually empty, but with the first signs of spring, fish farmers, almost exclusively Japanese, come here in huge numbers. Usually the owners and their contracted workers arrive on Japanese ships. Work immediately begins to boil. Boats and fishing gear are put in order, disassembled boilers and presses are installed; finally, the net is set out in anticipation of the arrival of the herring.

The Japanese seine net (“kakoami”) is very unique. It is a huge flat net bag, which is located with a long axis along the shore, supported in the sea by “balbers” and strengthened by six anchors. In the middle of the side of the bag that faces the shore is the entrance hole; if you pull the rope, it is easily and tightly tightened with a special net curtain. From the middle of the inlet, barrier nets made of large-mesh rice straw extend straight to the shore. Barrier nets are placed at a depth of up to 1 or l1 meters, while the seine itself, or bag, is placed at a depth of 61/2 to 8/2 meters, 425-640 meters from the shore, depending on local conditions.

The actual fishing with such bags occurs as follows: schools of herring, passing along the shore, come across protective nets, swim under them and fall into a net, or bag. With a good herring progress, filling the bag occurs in one hour, and together with other operations it takes no more than 2 or 2% of the hours. Each such bag filled with fish weighs, depending on its size, from approximately 600 to 1220 centners, which, according to a rough estimate, is from 500 thousand to 1 million pieces of herring. Under favorable conditions, large industrialists catch up to 8 bags per day, i.e. up to 10 thousand centners. Thus, with luck, one day can provide fishing for a whole year.

But such luck does not happen often, since the fishing conditions are very difficult. At this time, the sea is especially rough and cold; The weather is also cold, with freezing winds. Most of the fishing takes place at night, by the light of torches and lanterns, and people do not sleep for several nights in a row. There are often cases when a storm arises before the eyes of industrialists and destroys the wealth they have just extracted. Quite a lot of raw fish goes to waste while waiting for salting or preparation of fertilizer fertilizers, when it sits on the shelf for a week at a time. outdoors and rots. Currently, this herring, under the name Pacific herring, is supplied in salted form to domestic markets THE USSR. Its catch increased twenty times compared to the previous one and was already expressed in 1926 in the amount of 273 thousand centners.

True sprat (Spratella sprattus); real size.

True sprat (Spratella sprattus) belongs to the herring family, but differs from its relatives in its small size, no more than 13 centimeters in length, a strongly laterally compressed body, a strong keel on the abdomen and a slightly retracted dorsal fin. The scales of the sprat are smooth and fall off easily. The palatine bones and tongue have small teeth, but the vomer is toothless. The lower jaw protrudes slightly forward. Behind the vertical dorsal fins there are 11 to 12 ventral scutes.

Sprat are found in the Baltic and German seas and the northeastern part of the Atlantic Ocean. In the waters of the USSR, sprat are found in the Gulf of Finland, reaching the mouth of the Narova and even Kronstadt. A special subspecies of sprat, Spratella sprattus phalerica, lives in the Black Sea. In terms of lifestyle, sprat is similar to ordinary herring. Typically, sprat stay at a considerable depth, but to spawn they approach the shores of the German and Baltic seas in innumerable flocks. In the Baltic Sea, spawning occurs in May and June, but the mass appearance of these fish does not always coincide with the spawning time. Kilka is caught, like herring, with smooth nets, but with a small mesh. Particularly large quantities of sprat are caught off the coast of England, where overfishing occurs when the entire catch cannot be used and millions of dead fish are thrown into the sea.

In Germany, up to 16 million sprat are caught annually, which are smoked and sold under the name sprats. Smoked sprats, or sprat, are sold dry (“kopchuzhki”), and more often they are sealed in boxes cooked with olive oil. In Norway, sprat is pickled and sold under the name anchovies. Sprat called "revel" are prepared with various hot spices and sold in sealed cans.

Sprat (Clupeonella), also called sausage and not quite correctly sprat, is found in huge quantities in the Azov-Black Sea basin and in the Caspian Sea, where it is represented by the species common sausage, or sprat (Clupeonella delicatula). It has an elongated and low body of silver color with an olive tint on the back. This fish has from 43 to 55 gill rakers. There are from 40 to 50 transverse rows of scales along the body length, and 24 abdominal scutes. There are no teeth. The length of the sausages varies from 10 to 15 centimeters. It is close to the true sprat, but differs in the dorsal fin moved forward, the presence of two longer last rays in the anal fin and some other characteristics.

The sausage is also found in Lake Charkhale, where it is somewhat different from the Caspian one. In spring, these small herrings are found at the mouths of the Volga and Ural. Another species of Caspian sprat, Clupeonella grimmi, inhabits the southern and middle Caspian Sea. The lifestyle of both species is the same. They live mainly in the upper layers of water and feed on small crustaceans. Spawning in the northern and middle Caspian occurs from May to July, and in the southern Caspian almost all year round.

The sprat fishery in the Caspian Sea is poorly developed, but has every chance of great development.

The wiener, or crooked sprat (Clupeonella cultriventris), differs from the ordinary sausage in that its belly is more noticeably curved than its back. It is colored like this: the back is bluish; sides are silvery-white. The ventral scutes are highly developed and form strong spines from 26 to 30 pieces, and behind the ventral fins there are 9 or 10 spines. The length of the crooked sausage is 11 centimeters.

These sprat are found in the Black Sea, where they stay mainly at the mouths of rivers in the northwestern part of the sea, and sometimes enter rivers. Along the Bug River, for example, they rise to Nikolaev and even to Voznesensk. The fishery for sausages, or southern sprat, has reached very significant proportions in the Azov-Black Sea basin, yielding 300-400 thousand centners annually in recent years.

The sardine (Sardina pilchardus) resembles a sprat in appearance, but it does not have teeth on the tongue and palatal bones. On the abdomen, behind the ventral fins, there are 12 to 14 scutes. The length of the sardine reaches from 18 to 25 centimeters.

Sardine (Sardina pilchardus); 1/5 of the real value.

Sardines are found off the European shores of the Atlantic Ocean, as well as in the German and Mediterranean seas. There are especially many sardines along all the French coasts and the northern coasts of Spain, as well as in the waters of southern England. In winter, sardines live scatteredly, but in March they gather in flocks and approach the shores in masses. They do not have a strictly defined time for spawning, but this usually happens in the fall and less often in the summer. When spawning, schools are as dense and huge as herring.

Sardines are caught in huge quantities. In England, there were cases when up to 25 million sardines were caught, i.e. up to 10 thousand barrels. In France they fish with ordinary flowing nets with a small mesh, with bait in the form of cod eggs thrown in front of the net.

Sardines are cooked mainly in oil and sold all over the world in sealed tin boxes. The annual catch of sardines varies widely. In some years, billions of them are caught, and in other years no more than a few hundred million.

Iwashi, or Japanese sardine (Sardina melanosticta), is caught in the Sea of ​​Japan, off the coast of Korea, in Peter the Great Bay, the Tartar Strait to Cape Lazarev and in small quantities in Avachinskaya Bay (Kamchatka). In recent years, the movement of this fish to the north has been noticed. In terms of lifestyle, as well as in fat content and taste, it resembles an ordinary sardine, but in appearance it is significantly different. Iwashi has smaller scales, a larger head, and dark spots located above the lateral line. The commercial importance of Iwasi is increasing every year. Its fishing over the years since 1933 is close to 1 million centners.

A special genus (Caspialosa) consists of herrings that live in the southern seas of the USSR. These herrings are characterized by a large mouth, teeth on the vomer, a strong keel on the abdomen, and the presence of elongated scales at the base of the caudal fin. Of these, the following types are the most important in the national economy:

Pot-bellied (Caspialosa caspia). Its length on average does not exceed 23 centimeters. The belly of the belly is strongly curved. The maxillary bones contain teeth that are very unequally developed. The number of gill rakers varies between 85 and 135. Between the dorsal and ventral fins there are from 14 to 16 longitudinal rows of scales. The scales fall off easily. A fresh belly is colored greenish on the back with a silvery tint. The fins, except the ventral ones, are gray. Puzanok in the Caspian Sea forms a number of forms, of which the northern and two southern ones are the best known.

The bellyfish lives throughout the Caspian Sea, partly also in the lower reaches of the Volga. In the spring, in March and April, large numbers of bellies come to the western shore of the sea and the mouths of the Volga.

Spawning in puzankas occurs mainly in the northwestern corner of the Caspian Sea, in the pre-estuary Volga space, and partly in lake-like reservoirs adjacent to the Volga delta, in the so-called “substeppe ilmens”. The female belly spawns over 150 thousand eggs in three steps.

The food of these herrings consists of small animals that live in the upper layers of water.

The common herring (Caspialosa volgensis), also called the iron herring, lives in the northern half of the Caspian Sea. In the spring, the common herring approaches the shores and, moving along them to the north in huge masses, enters the Volga, where they spawn in May-June in three stages. Spawning in 3-5 years.

The average length of this herring is 35 centimeters, and fertility is determined on average at 180 thousand eggs for each female. The common herring feeds partly on small crustaceans and partly on small fish. Two races are known: multi-stamen (up to 140 stamens) and few-stamen. Blackback herring or hall herring (Caspialosa kessleri), also called rabies, are distinguished by a thick, ridged body with an elongated caudal peduncle.

Blackback herring (Caspialosa kessleri); 1/3 of the real value.

When the mouth is closed, the lower jaw protrudes slightly forward. The teeth are located on the maxillary, mandibular and premaxillary bones. Gill rakers are thick and uneven, 60-96 on each first gill arch. There are 52 transverse rows of scales along the body and 15 rows between the dorsal and ventral fins. The scales of the blackback are stronger than those of the bellyfish, and are colored dark purple on the back, which was the reason for its name. The length of the blackback reaches 40 centimeters.

In its lifestyle, the blackback, or zalom, is similar to the common herring, but spawns only in the middle reaches of the Volga (Saratov-Kazan and above). Spawning occurs in June-July. The peculiarity of this herring is that it spawns only once in its life, after which it dies from exhaustion.

Blackbacks feed on fish, eating small herrings, gobies, sprat, silversides and others.

Dolgan herring (Caspialosa braschnikovi) differs from other Caspian species in that it lives exclusively in the sea. Dolgin herring forms two races that live along the western shore of the Caspian Sea, north of the Absheron Peninsula and in the northeastern corner of the sea.

Dolginskaya herring reaches an average of 38 centimeters in length; the largest dimensions are over 48 centimeters. On average, a female lays about 66 thousand eggs. Spawns in the fourth year, spawns several times, lives 8-10 years. The western race of this herring spawns in slightly desalinated areas of the sea, and the eastern race, on the contrary, in highly saline areas. In the southern third of the Caspian Sea and off its eastern coast, the described species is represented by several forms. The Dolnskaya herring, like the blackback, feeds exclusively on small fish.

The remaining species and varieties of herring in the Caspian Sea are found in relatively small quantities and constitute only “by-catch” in the herring fishery. The total annual production of herring in the Caspian Sea reached a huge figure in pre-revolutionary times, sometimes exceeding 2 million centners, but even then the catches showed large fluctuations from year to year, indicating that in addition to the predatory methods of herring fishing that existed at that time, apparently The reproduction of herring was unfavorably influenced by some other factors, which periodically affected the decline in the catch.

Catch statistics apparently show a decline in Caspian herring stocks even in pre-revolutionary times. The continuing decline in herring catches over the past 6 years from 1,276 thousand centners in 1930 to 294 thousand centners in 1936, despite the streamlining of the fishery, suggests that it is not only problems in the fishery that are causing this decline

Thus, the Caspian herring fishery, which was the largest in the USSR, currently faces competitors in the herring catch in the Far East and the North.

Black Sea herrings are divided into two groups: Black Sea-Danube and Azov-Black Sea. Black Sea blackback (Caspialosa pontica), together with three species, belongs to the western Black Sea-Danube group. The length of this herring is 37 centimeters. The western group also includes a smaller species (Caspialosa nordmanni), the length of which does not exceed 20 centimeters. Nothing is known about the lifestyle of these herrings. Usually in the spring they enter in significant quantities into the Danube and partly into the Dniester and Dnieper for spawning.

In pre-war times, the total annual catch reached 51/2 million pieces, or 7380 centners. After the capture of Bessarabia by Romania, when the lower reaches of the Danube and the left side of the Dniester moved away from us, the production of western Black Sea herring decreased.

As for the eastern group of Black Sea herring, three species live in the eastern part of the Black Sea and the Azov Sea: the local race of blackback (Caspialosa pontica) and the species Caspialosa tanaica and Caspialosa maeotica. All of them winter in the eastern part of the Black Sea, and in the spring they enter the Sea of ​​Azov through the Kerch Strait. From here, the first two species go to spawn in the Don, and the third species (Caspialosa maeotica) spawns in the desalinated parts of the Sea of ​​​​Azov. In autumn, the return journey of herring from the Azov Sea to the Black Sea begins. In the Kerch Strait, the first herring appears in early September. At this time it is very fatty, tasty and remarkably tender. Following the first schools of small herring, larger and larger specimens appear, and this movement continues until the ice.

This double passage of herring through the narrow Kerch Strait is very favorable for fishing.

Total herring catches in the Azov-Black Sea basin in recent years ranged from 60 to 117 thousand centners.

It is also worth mentioning the genus Alosa, close to Caspialosa, which differs in the absence of teeth on the vomer. This genus includes the finch (Alosa finta), a herring that lives off the coast of Europe and enters the rivers of the German and Baltic seas to spawn.

Herring family

The importance of fish for the human economy can be expressed quite clearly by calling it “herring”.

You can live without cod; flounders and most other marine fish provide mostly food and income only to coastal residents; freshwater fish are among the rarer dishes on the table of a resident of the interior of the country; but the herring and its relatives reach the hut furthest from the sea. If any fish deserves the name of food of the poor, it is the herring; accessible even to the poor, it should replace meat in many homes. There is no other fish that we need more.
Atlantic herring(Clupea harengus) rarely reaches, as is known, a length of more than 30 cm, has small, narrow pectoral and pelvic fins, a dorsal fin standing in the middle of the back, a narrow anal fin pushed far back, a deeply forked tail, large, easily falling off scales; The upper side of this fish is a beautiful green or green-blue color, the underside and belly are silvery and, depending on the direction of the incident light, shine in different shades; the dorsal and caudal fins are dark, the rest are light.
The northern part of the Atlantic Ocean from the American to European shores, including the North and Baltic seas and part of the ocean to the north of Asia, constitute the homeland of herring. Previously, everyone thought that the herring made an annual journey from Arctic Ocean, which brings it into our waters. Anderson put forward this assumption in the form of a thesis and indicated the herring route in the most precise way. He informed the scientist and the fishing world that a huge flock sails from the north, then splits, sails around Iceland and Great Britain, here enters the Baltic Sea through the Kattegat and the Sound, and through the English Channel or British waters continues along the Dutch and French coasts, etc. Bloch has already expressed doubt that herring can make such a journey from spring to autumn. He pointed out that they are much less common in the Far North than in the North and Baltic Seas, that they are caught in the latter throughout the year, and suggested that the fish rise from great depths to the upper layers of water. Other researchers supported him; in England, too, the truth was finally recognized, and now there is no longer any doubt that Bloch expressed an absolutely correct opinion. “It is remarkable,” says Karl Vogt, “how the natural history of the herring, a fish so common throughout the North Sea, has been embellished and distorted by fishermen and writers. The sudden appearance of huge schools of herring off the northern shores of Europe and America at certain times of the year, the mysterious disappearance from certain places where they existed in abundance before, they gave rise to fables, which, despite the most thorough coverage by natural scientists, are still in use in popular works and textbooks."
The spawning time, during which the most significant fishing is done, falls in the winter months, but it seems to vary often by weeks and months, depending on the weather and other essentially unknown causes. Fishermen have various signs, which determine the approach of schools of herring. However, these signs are so inaccurate that the Dutch say that they would gladly give a barrel of gold for sure sign to determine the time and place of the upcoming appearance of herring. The years are also different. One winter, huge schools appear in a certain place, while the next winter only individual fish are caught in the net.

* The level of accumulated knowledge on the biology of herring, the features of its migration cycle, as well as the developed methods for forecasting numbers and commercial exploration allow us to predict the productivity of different herring stocks, the timing of their appearance on spawning grounds or in other areas with much greater accuracy than in Brem’s time areas of the ocean where they form commercial aggregations.

Among herrings, many breeds are also distinguished, although species differences cannot be recognized between them. The herring of the Baltic Sea is the smallest and thinnest, the Dutch and English are already larger, and the herring of the Shetland Islands and the Norwegian coast is the largest and fattest. Coastal fishermen themselves, like salmon fishermen, distinguish coastal herring at the mouths of rivers, which stays close to the shore and is usually fattier, but does not have such a delicate taste as sea herring, which swims to the shore from afar.
The life history of the herring is still dark and unclear in many respects. Its appearance in the upper layers of water and near the shore, as already said, is little predictable, and schools of fish wanting to reproduce are not always there, but on the contrary, large schools of so-called idle herring, which the Dutch call Matjeshering, also appear annually from their native depths. We still know almost nothing about the life of herring in the depths. It was gradually established that it feeds on tiny crustaceans, some of them invisible to the naked eye, but eats them in countless quantities. Sometimes, however, it also feeds, as Scott's latest research has shown, on other fish, especially sprat, as well as eggs and fry of various fish.
The reasons that determine and sometimes modify the direction of movement of the herring are still not yet known, but it seems certain that over certain long periods of time, schools of herring deviate from those places that they regularly visited before and head towards others. Heinke speaks about this as follows: “Fishing for herring in the open sea off the coast of Germany is currently impossible, since this part of the North Sea is extremely poor in herring. The Scots and English are in the best conditions in this regard: they have the richest herring shoals at hand and almost the same applies to the Norwegians, and in modern times to the Swedes, who have a rich fishery in the Skagerrak, where I found a large abundance of herring on the Jutland Bank. However, the German coasts were not always so poor in herrings as they are now. It is firmly established , that around 1500 a large herring fishery was carried out from Heligoland, the size of which, however, cannot be accurately determined, but which, apparently, was at that time main source earnings of the Heligolanders and in which Bremen, Stadt and Hamburg merchants also took part, building fishing buildings on the island." Oetker said, as Lindemann cites, that in the 15th and 16th centuries, herring fishing was the main industry of the Heligolanders and ceased only in the 17th century due to the disappearance of herring , which until that time appeared annually in masses. But schools of herring returned again at the end of the 18th century. “The herring,” says the doctor Rambach, “has long disappeared from the mouths of the Elbe; in 1770 it appeared there again, but in smaller numbers, so that since time immemorial it has not reached our market fresh. At the end of the last autumn (1800) she appeared in such large flocks in the Elbe at Gluckstadt that she was caught with ladles; in Hamburg they paid 2 shillings for 20 pieces." Pastor Hübbe also writes from Hamburg in 1808: "Only 10 years ago we again became acquainted with the cry “fresh herrings”! In older times, it is true, fresh herring was brought to Hamburg for sale, but then it again became unaccustomed to the Elbe and the places around it, so that it represented a completely new phenomenon. At times there were so many herrings that a full bucket was sold for 2 shillings. They were transported for sale on carts and handcarts and brought to the city. Neighboring peasants bought whole cartloads of herring to fatten their pigs." According to Marquard, also cited by Lindeman, the number of Blankenese fishermen reached approximately 200 before 1820, but they could not properly sell their incredibly large catch*.

* The number of herring in the same herds can vary greatly from year to year and depends on the conditions of spawning and fattening of juveniles in previous years, i.e., on those conditions that determine the productivity of a generation. The total number of herring, like other commercial fish, is greatly influenced by the timing and volume of catch. Irrational use of stocks often leads to overfishing, when the number of fish is sharply reduced, and its restoration requires a long time and special measures to introduce restrictions or a ban on fishing. For fish such as herring, which are fished by vessels from many countries, mutual agreements on catch volumes (quotas) are reached as a result of complex and lengthy international negotiations.

The main mass of all herring, which is observed and caught in the upper layers, undoubtedly appears here with the intention of spawning. Sometimes caviar and milt are poured out in such a mass that the sea becomes cloudy and the nets become covered with bark, creating a nasty smell that spreads over a long distance; the top layer of water is saturated with seed, which can fertilize most of the eggs. Even at the bottom of the sea, caviar accumulates in the form of a clearly visible layer. Thus, Evart, examining the shallows where herring spawn, in Ballantrae off the southern part of the western coast of Scotland, found that the coarse sandy soil of the sea at a depth of 7-213 fathoms was in places covered with a layer of eggs more than 1 cm thick.
A resident of the interior of the country can hardly form an idea of ​​\u200b\u200bschools of herring, since the stories of eyewitnesses seem exaggerated and incredible. But the eyewitnesses agree so much among themselves that we cannot doubt the accuracy of their stories. “Experienced fishermen,” says Schilling, “whom I accompanied during fishing, showed me in the late twilight schools several miles long and wide, which were noticeable not on the surface of the sea, but by their reflection in the air. The herring then move so thickly, that boats caught in schools of them are in danger; herring can be directly thrown into the ship with scoops, and a long oar stuck into this living mass continues to stand." In modern times, Leverkus-Leverkusen clearly and vividly describes how, off the western coast of Norway, crossing the sea arm, he met a flock of herring near the island of Hitteren, caught in a narrow strait*.

* The eyewitness accounts cited by Brem clearly exaggerate the density of herring in schools on spawning grounds. Specially conducted studies made it possible to establish that in spawning aggregations in 1 m3 of water there are up to several dozen fish. In running schools of herring, the fish density is much lower.

“I was present at a strange sight, which I had never seen before so close! The keel of the boat slowly cut through this teeming mass and forcibly pressed into the wet element the helpless fish crowded on the surface. Gabriel captured more herring with his oar blade than water, and so we are in For several minutes we crossed the flock with effort." Other observers say the same; some even claim that teeming fish raise boats crossing their stream. Schilling considers it likely that the herring are led by small vanguard schools and that the wind, current and weather determine each time the direction of their movement. Others do not seem to believe this, although they agree that herring sometimes appear in masses.
Depending on the water temperature, the fry emerge earlier or later, in May, perhaps after 14-18 days, in August - after 6-8 days. Transparent and therefore barely noticeable fry, leaving an egg, are about 7 mm long, eat the contents of the yolk sac within 8-10 days, then begin to move and, having gathered in myriads, fill the waters where they were born for a long time. In the first month of life, they reach, according to Wiedegren, an average length of 1.5, in the second 2.5, in the third 3.7 cm; after a year their length is approximately 9 cm, a year later - 15-18 cm; in the third year, with a length of about 20 cm, they become capable of reproduction.
Countless as schools of herring are the enemies that follow them. While they stay in the upper layers of water, all the predatory fish living here, all seabirds and almost everything marine mammals feed exclusively on them. Norwegians learn about the appearance of herring by the cetaceans that gather for them; Many local fishermen think that cetaceans bring in fish, and they also talk about herring kings and other predatory fish accompanying schools. How great are the losses caused to schools of herring? sea ​​predators, it is, of course, impossible to estimate approximately, but we can, perhaps, with high probability, assume that the greatest devastation is caused by man.
The closest relative of the herring living in the German seas is European sprat, or European sprat(Sprattus sprattus)*. The fish is about 15 cm long. The belly is sharp with clear teeth, the back is dark blue with a green tint, the rest of the body is silvery-white; the dorsal and caudal fins appear dark, and the pectoral, ventral and anal fins appear white. The spinal column consists of 48 vertebrae.

* Sprat is found in the seas washing Europe from the Black Sea to the Norwegian Sea. In the Baltic Sea, sprat is found in large quantities and is called sprat. This is a small, quickly maturing sea schooling fish that spawns in the open sea and spawns floating eggs. In the Baltic Sea sprat - important object fishing.

Although the importance of sprat in the human economy is not as great as herring, it still belongs to the most important fish of the North and Baltic seas, the shores of which it inhabits in large numbers. In its way of life, sprat is similar to herring, lives, like the latter, at considerable depth and appears annually in countless schools near the shores or in shallow water. But the observations made by Hensen on the Baltic sprat proved that they undoubtedly spawn in May and June; Around the same time, according to Matthews, they appear on the Scottish shores to spawn. In any case, their invasion does not always coincide with the time of spawning, since in England their mass appearance was observed in other months, and moreover, it was proven that other fish were mixed in with them, especially young herrings.
European alosa(Alosa alosa)** even by an ignorant person can be recognized as a close relative of the herring. Her mouth is cut up to her eyes, which are partly covered in front and behind by cartilaginous semilunar eyelids; The gill arches are studded on their concave side with many densely lying long and thin plates.

* * Alosa is a very large anadromous herring, reaching a length of 1 m. It lived along the Atlantic coast of Europe and West Africa, in the Mediterranean and Black Seas. It entered large rivers to spawn. Already in Brehm's time, the number of alosas decreased sharply; now this species is endangered.

The back is a beautiful oil-green color with a metallic sheen; the sides are shiny golden, a large dark, as if faded spot, located in the upper corner of the wide gill slit, and 3-5 smaller spots following it have an olive-greenish tint; The fins appear more or less blackish due to the dark-grained pigment. The length reaches 60 cm or a little more, weight 1.5-2.5 kg.
Feint(Alosa fallax) is a much smaller fish: it reaches no more than 45 cm in length with 1 kg of weight. The finta differs from the alosa by its predominantly few, detached, short and thick processes and located on the curved side of the gill arches; its color is very similar to aluz.
In terms of lifestyle, both fish are very similar to each other. They live in all the seas washing the European shores, stay here at considerable depth, and as soon as the rivers are more or less cleared of ice, sooner or later they appear on them and rise upstream to spawn. During these wanderings, they travel through almost the entire river basin, since even along small rivers they climb as far as they can*.

* In its biology and distribution, the finta is similar to alosa. It is distinguished by its smaller size, does not rise high in rivers, spawns in the lower reaches, not far from the mouth.

Fishermen are well aware of these fish, which, swimming near the surface of the water, make a special noise with the blows of their tail, which is sometimes so strong that it seems “as if there is a whole herd of pigs in the water.” Finta usually sets off on her journey four weeks later than Aloz, but her behavior during the journey is exactly the same as that of the latter. During the noise, which is partly similar to the grunting of a pig, the fish, ready to reproduce, lay their eggs on the surface of the water and then return to the sea. Wherein most of of them is exhausted and exhausted to the extreme, so that their meat, which is not particularly valued anyway, is barely fit for consumption. Many of them cannot stand the stress, and sometimes a large number of their corpses are found, which are carried down by the current. In October you can see young fish 5 cm in length, and fish 10-15 cm in length are found in rivers the following spring and then swim out to sea. Their food consists of small fish and a variety of soft-shelled animals.
Tricks and feints are much more important European sardine(Sardina pilchardus), similar in appearance to herring, but smaller and thicker, 18-20, at most 25 cm in length; its upper side is bluish-green, its sides and belly are silvery-white; gill covers with a golden tint and dark stripes.
The sardine, found mainly in western Europe, is often found off the southern coast of England and along all the French and northern Spanish sea coasts to the Strait of Gibraltar**.

* * European sardine is also found in the Black Sea, but in small quantities.

Although the sardine is a voracious fish, it feeds almost exclusively on small crustaceans, especially small shrimp, which are found in the thousands in its stuffed stomach. It spawns in the autumn months; but in other years, sardines capable of reproducing are found already in May; Thus, it is impossible to strictly determine the time of reproduction.
North Manhattan(Brevoortia tyravtnus) - a fish with irregularly located scales, at the end covered with eyelashes, and with a black spot in the shoulder area.
This small fish appears in the summer on the eastern shores of North America from Florida to Newfoundland in countless herds that do not move further from the coast than the Gulf Stream, but penetrate into bays and river mouths wherever brackish water is found. In former times, these fish, caught in large numbers on occasion, were used as food, but mainly they were used to fertilize fields. However, over the course of many decades, this production began to be looked at more seriously, and many factories were established that produce blubber from these fish on a grand scale.
Lindeman describes the production of blubber as follows: “I saw the production of blubber in the saltworks of Wales at a distance of one hour from Sag Harbor at Cape Cedar. A large open wooden building contains 12 vats, which are installed on the ground floor, while the furnaces are located directly on the ground. these twelve vats are supplied with fresh spring water through iron pipes, supplied from a separate huge tank. Such a tank is 1.3 m high and about 3.5 m wide. Inside the building there is a small railway, which, going down, reaches the dams where they moor ships with fish. On trailers that are pulled on ropes by means of steam engines, the fish are brought to the edges of vats placed along railway, and dump into them. Each vat holds 20-30 thousand fish. Cooking, in which the meat is easily freed from the bones, takes part of the time. Using a hydraulic press, blubber is extracted from the boiled mass and then passed through pipes into large flat vessels; here it cools and is then bottled. Depending on the fat content, from 1000 fish we get from 12 to 120 liters of blubber, on average up to 25 liters."

Life of animals. - M.: State Publishing House of Geographical Literature. A. Brem. 1958.

Herring fish have a laterally compressed or squamous body, usually silvery, with a dark blue or greenish back. There is one dorsal fin, usually in the middle part of the back, the pectoral fins are located at the lower edge of the body, the ventral fins are located in the middle third of the belly (sometimes absent), the caudal fin is notched. Very characteristic is the absence of pierced scales on the lateral line on the body, which occur only in the number 2-5 immediately behind the head. Along the midline of the belly, many have a keel of pointed scales. The teeth on the jaws are weak or missing. The swim bladder is connected by a canal to the stomach, and two processes extend from the anterior end of the bladder, penetrating into the ear capsules of the skull. There are upper and lower intermuscular bones. Herrings are schooling planktivorous fish; Most species are marine, some are migratory, and a few are freshwater. Widely distributed from the subantarctic to the Arctic, but the number of genera and species is high in the tropics, decreases in temperate waters, and single species are common in cold waters. For the most part, these are small and medium-sized fish, less than 35-45 cm, only a few anadromous herring can reach a length of 75 cm. In total, there are about 50 genera and 190 species of herring. This family provides about 20% of the world's fish catch, occupying the first place among fish families in terms of catch size, along with anchovies. In this large and important family, 6-7 subfamilies are distinguished, some of which are accepted by some scientists as special families. Round belly herring (Dussumierinae) subfamily Round belly herrings differ from other herrings in that their belly is rounded and there are no keel scales along its midline. The mouth is small and terminal. The jaws, palate and tongue are lined with small, numerous teeth. This group includes 7 genera with 10 species, distributed in the tropical and subtropical waters of the Pacific, Indian and western Atlantic oceans. Among round-bellied herrings, two groups of forms (genera) are distinguished: larger multivertebral (48-56 vertebrae) fish, reaching a length of 15-35 cm (Dussumieria, Etrumeus), and smaller few-vertebral (30-46 vertebrae) fish, 5-11 cm length (Spratelloides, Jenkinsia, Echirava, Sauvagella, Gilchristella).

Kibango herrings (Spatelloides) are small, the most numerous among round-bellied herrings, reaching only 10 cm in length. Throughout the coastal areas of vast expanses of tropical waters of the Indian and Pacific oceans (except only in the eastern part of the Pacific Ocean), these fish are attracted at night by the light of lamps from the ship in huge numbers. Kibinago herring enter shallow bays in the summer to spawn. Unlike dussumieria and ordinary round belly herring (urume), which spawn floating eggs, kibinago herrings lay peculiar bottom eggs that adhere to grains of sand, the yolk of which is equipped with a group of small fat droplets. Despite its small size, kibinago herring is eaten fresh, dried, and in the form of a tasty fish paste. They are also used as excellent live bait when fishing for skipjack tuna. Manhua (Jerrkinsia) is very close to the kibinago herring. Two or three species of manhua live off the Atlantic coasts of the islands and isthmus Central America from the Bahamas, Florida and Mexico to Venezuela, and also off Bermuda. It is even smaller, up to only 6.5 cm in length, but, like the kibinago, it has a silver stripe running along its sides from head to tail; it stays in coves with a sandy bottom and lays eggs that adhere to the same exact bottom. Manhua is specially caught in Cuba to attract skipjack tuna, and its shortage has an adverse effect on the tuna fishery. Species of the remaining genera of round-bellied herring are small herrings that live in bays and estuaries off the coast of East Africa, Madagascar and India. SPRAT-LIKE HERRINGS (Clupeinae) or Herring Subfamily This subfamily is the most important group of herring fishes, including northern sea herrings, sardines, sardinella, sprat, kiln and other genera. There are about 12 births in total. Sea herring (Clupea) inhabit the temperate waters of the northern hemisphere (boreal region) and the adjacent seas of the Arctic Ocean, and in the southern hemisphere they live off the coast of Chile. Sea herring are schooling planktivorous fish, usually up to 33-35 cm in length. The scales are cycloid, easily falling off. Keel scales are poorly developed. The sides and belly are silvery, the back is blue-green or green. They lay bottom-adherent eggs on the ground or algae. Most sea herring live near the coast, only a few races go beyond the shelf during the feeding period. Among sea herrings, there are those that make long-distance migrations with passive settlement of larvae and fry, return migrations of growing fish and feeding and spawning wanderings of adults, and those that form local herds confined to marginal seas; There are also lacustrine forms that live in semi-enclosed or completely isolated brackish water bodies.

Currently, there are three types of sea herring - Atlantic, or multivertebral, eastern, or few-vertebral, and Chilean herring. MANDUFIAS (Ramnogaster) - three species of herring of this genus live in the waters of Uruguay and Argentina. The body of Mandufia is laterally compressed, the belly is convex, with a jagged keel of scales equipped with spines, the mouth is small, upper; the pelvic fins are moved further forward than in herrings and sprats, their bases are located in front of the base of the dorsal fin. These are small fish, about 9-10 cm long, common in coastal waters, estuaries and rivers. Schools of mandufias are found in brackish waters and enter rivers along with schools of silversides; feed on small plankton crustaceans. SPRATS OR SPRATS (Sprattus) genus is distributed in temperate and subtropical waters of Europe, South America, South Australia and New Zealand. Sprats are close to sea herrings of the genus Clupea. They differ from them by the stronger development of keel scales on the belly, forming a spiny keel from the throat to the anus; a less forward dorsal fin, starting further back than the bases of the ventral fins; a smaller number of rays in the ventral fin (usually 7-8), a smaller number of vertebrae (46-50), floating eggs and other characteristics. Sprats are smaller than sea herrings; they are no larger than 17-18 cm. They live up to 5-6 years, but their usual lifespan is 3-4 years.

Sprats of the southern hemisphere have not been studied enough. In the waters of Tierra del Fuego and the Falkland Islands, as well as in the extreme south of South America, lives the fire sprat (Sprattus fuegensis), found in large flocks and having a length of 14-17 cm. Close to it and possibly classified as the same species is the Tasmanian sprat (S. bassensis), schools of which are common in the deep bays and straits of Tasmania and South Australia in the summer and autumn months. TULKA OR CASPIAN SPRAT (Clupeonella) genus contains 4 species of small herring fish that live in the Black, Azov and Caspian seas and their basins. The belly of kilkas is laterally compressed, equipped with 24-31 strong spiny scales along the entire length from the throat to the anus. Pelvic fins approximately under the anterior third of the dorsal fin. In the anal fin, the last two rays are elongated, like in sardines and sardinellas. The mouth is upper, toothless, small, the maxillary bone does not extend back further than the anterior edge of the eye. The eggs are floating, with a very large purple fat drop, with a large circular yolk space. Vertebrae 39-49. Tyulka are euryhaline and eurythermic fish that live both in brackish water, up to 13°/00, and in fresh water at temperatures from 0 to 24°C. Sardines are the names of three genera of marine herring fish: Sardina, Sardinops and Sardinella. These three genera are characterized by elongated, blade-shaped two posterior rays of the anal fin and the presence of two elongated scales - “wings” - at the base of the caudal fin. In addition, pilchard sardines and sardinops have radially diverging grooves on the gill cover. True sardines (pilchard and sardinops) are common in warm temperate and subtropical seas, sardinella - in tropical and partly subtropical waters. Sardines reach a length of 30-35 cm; in commercial catches they are usually 13-22 cm long.

All sardines are sea schooling fish that live in the upper layers of water; feed on plankton and spawn floating eggs. Sardine eggs have a large round-yolk space, and in the yolk there is a small drop of fat. Sardines have a large practical significance, replacing sea herring in warm waters. SARDINES SARDINOPS (Sardinops) genus reaches a length of 30 cm and a weight of 150 g and above. The body is thick, the belly is not compressed laterally. The back is blue-green, the sides and belly are silvery-white, along each side there is a row of dark spots, up to 15 in number. On the surface operculum there are radially diverging grooves. The number of vertebrae ranges from 47 to 53. Sardinops are very similar to the real pilchard sardine. They differ from it in having shortened gill rakers at the corner of the first gill arch, a slightly larger mouth (the posterior edge of the upper jaw extends beyond the vertical of the middle of the eye) and the nature of the scales. In sardinops, all scales are the same, of medium size (50-57 transverse rows of scales), while in pilchards smaller scales are hidden under large scales. SARDINELLA (Sardinella) genus contains 16-18 species of sardines from tropical and partly subtropical waters.

Only one species (S. aurita) also enters moderately warm seas. Sardinella differ from the pilchard sardine and sardinops by a smooth gill cover, the presence of two protrusions on the anterior edge of the shoulder girdle (under the edge of the gill cover), the absence in most species of dark spots on the side of the body, which are present only in S. Sirm, and in the form of a single spot ( not always) in S. aurita. Twelve species of this genus live in the waters of the Indian Ocean, and in the western part of the Pacific Ocean, from East Africa and red sea to Indonesia and Polynesia in the east, and from the Red Sea, India and Southern China - to Southeast Africa, Indonesia and Northern Australia. Herrings and sardines are small, up to 15-20 cm in length, tropical herring fish with a laterally compressed silvery body and a scaly keel on the belly. They inhabit the coastal waters of the Indo-West Pacific biogeographic region and Central America. There are none on the eastern shores of the Atlantic Ocean. In structure, these fish are close to sardinella. On the anterior edge of the shoulder girdle, under the gill cover, they also have two rounded lobes protruding forward. The last two rays of the anal fin are slightly elongated, but do not form a protruding lobe. Their eggs, like those of sardines, are floating, with a large circular yolk space, with a small drop of fat in the yolk. Unlike sardines, they do not have elongated scales at the base of the caudal fin. Their body is laterally compressed and silvery; vertebrae 40-45. HERRINGS (genus Herclotsichthys, recently isolated from the genus Harengula) are distributed only within the Indo-West Pacific region: from Japan to Indonesia and Australia, off the coast of the Indian Ocean, off the islands of Melanesia, Micronesia, and Polynesia. There are 12-14 species of herring, of which 3-4 species live off the eastern and southeastern coasts of Asia, 4 species live in Northern Australia, 4 species are widespread in the Indian and Western Pacific Oceans, from the Red Sea and East Africa to Indonesia , Polynesia and Northern Australia. SARDINES (Harengula), as already mentioned, live only in the tropical waters of America.

There are three species in the Atlantic Ocean; they are very numerous off the coast of Central America, the Antilles, and Venezuela. Along the Pacific coast, from the California coast to the Gulf of Panama, one species is widespread - the arena (N. thrissina). Machuela (Opisthonema) gen. Representatives of this genus are distinguished by a strongly elongated posterior ray of the dorsal fin, sometimes reaching the base of the caudal fin. By this characteristic, the machuela resembles the snout herring (Dorosomatinae), but it has a semi-superior or terminal mouth, the snout is not blunted and there is no elongated axillary scale above the base of the pectoral fin. Machuela has 46-48 vertebrae. It is a purely American genus containing two species. Also, only in America, off the coast of Brazil, in the sea and in the rivers of Guiana and the Amazon, do unique spiny-nosed sardines (Rhinosardinia) live, with two spines on the snout and a spiny keel on the belly. NAKE-EYED HERRRING OR NOL-EYED HERRRING (Pellonulinae) A subfamily that contains 14 genera and over 20 species of tropical, mainly freshwater herring fishes of America (8 genera), the Indo-Malayan archipelago, partly India and Australia. Representatives of this subfamily do not have a fatty eyelid or it is barely developed, the belly is usually laterally compressed, and the mouth is small. Some species of Australian genera (Potamalosa, Hyperlophus) have a serrated keel made up of a series of scutes (scales) on the back between the back of the head and the dorsal fin. Most species in this group are small fish, less than 10 cm in length. Corica (Corica, 4 species), living in the waters of India, Indochina and the Indo-Malayan archipelago, are especially small. They are no larger than 3-5 cm, their anal fin is divided into two: the anterior one, consisting of 14-16 rays, and the posterior one, consisting of 2 rays, separated from the anterior one by a noticeable gap. BELLY HERRRINGS (Alosinae) Subfamily The subfamily contains the largest herring fish. Most species in this group are anadromous, some are brackish water, some are freshwater. This group of herring fish includes 4 genera with 21 species, living in moderately warm and to a lesser extent subtropical and tropical waters of the northern hemisphere.

Bellied herrings have a laterally compressed belly with a spinous scale-like keel along its medial line; they have a large mouth, the posterior end of the upper jaw extends beyond the vertical of the middle of the eye; There are fatty eyelids on the eyes. These include aloz, gilzi and gudusia. Aloses are common in moderately warm coastal marine, brackish and fresh waters of Eastern America and Europe; Gilsa and Gudusia live off the coast and partly in the fresh waters of East Africa, South and Southeast Asia. The subfamily of belly herrings also usually includes a special group of herring fishes close to the American menhaden (Brevoortia). Apparently, it is more correct to classify them into a special group or subfamily of comb-scaled herring, including here the American menhaden, nacheta and West African bonga. The Alosa genus is important in this group. Species of this genus are characterized by a strongly laterally compressed body with a pointed, serrated ventral keel; two elongated scales - “wings” - at the base of the upper and lower lobes of the caudal fin; radial grooves on the roof bone; a noticeable medial notch in the upper jaw, as well as highly developed fatty eyelids on the eyes. On each side of the body there is usually a dark spot behind the upper edge of the operculum, which in some species is often followed by a row of several spots; sometimes, in addition, under this row there is a second and occasionally a third of a smaller number of spots. Differences in the shape and number of gill rakers, which correspond to differences in the nature of food, are very characteristic of different species and forms of aloz. Few short and thick gill rakers are characteristic of predatory herrings, numerous thin and long ones are characteristic of planktivorous herrings. The number of gill rakers on the first arch in aloz varies from 18 to 180. The number of vertebrae is 43-59. Aloses are common in the coastal, moderately warm waters of the Atlantic Ocean basin in the northern hemisphere, as well as in the Mediterranean, Black and Caspian seas.

There are 14 species in this genus, grouped into two subgenera: 10 species of the main form of the genus Alosa and 4 species of Pomolobus. In true aloz, the height of the cheek is greater than its length, in pomolobs it is equal to or less than its length. Two species of true aloses live in the waters of the eastern coast of North America (Alosa sapidissima, A. ohioensis), two - off the western coasts of Europe, North Africa and in the Mediterranean Sea (A. alosa, A. fallax), two species - in the basins of the Black and Caspian Sea (A. caspia, A. kessleri), four species - only in the Caspian Sea (A. brashnikovi, A. saposhnikovi, A. sphaerocephala, A. curensis). All four species of mothfish (Alosa (Pomolobus) aestivalis, A. (P.) pseudoharengus, A. (P.) mediocris, A. (P.) chrysochloris) live in American waters. Many species of alosas fall into a greater or lesser number of forms - subspecies, races, etc. According to the biology of reproduction, four groups of species and forms of the genus alosa are distinguishable: anadromous, semi-anadromous, brackish-water and freshwater. Anadromous live in the sea, and for spawning they rise to the upper and middle reaches of rivers (anadromous anadromous); semi-anadromous eggs lay eggs in the lower reaches of rivers and in adjacent pre-estuarine, slightly saline areas of the sea; Brackish water fish live and spawn in brackish sea water. Some Atlantic-Mediterranean anadromous species also form local lake forms (subspecies), permanently living in fresh water. In the waters of America, Western Europe, the Mediterranean and Black Sea-Azov basins live anadromous and semi-anadromous species, as well as their freshwater forms; in the Caspian basin - anadromous, semi-anadromous and brackish-water species. Unlike the Atlantic-Mediterranean alozes, the Black Sea-Azov and Caspian alozes do not form lacustrine freshwater forms; Moreover, among the alozes of the Black Sea-Azov basin there are three anadromous and one semi-anadromous species, and in the Caspian Sea - one anadromous (2 forms), one semi-anadromous (4 forms) and four brackish-water species. In Black Sea and Caspian aloz, the eggs ripen and are laid out in three portions, with intervals between layings of 1-1.5 weeks. The number of eggs in each portion usually ranges from 30 to 80 thousand. The eggs of species of the genus Alosa are semi-pelagic, floating on the current or bottom, partly weakly sticking (in the American threshing fish and the Caspian ilmen belly). The shell of semi-pelagic eggs is thin; in bottom eggs, it is more dense and impregnated with adhered particles of silt. Like sardine eggs, aloz eggs have a large or medium yolk space, but unlike sardines, as a rule, they do not contain a fat drop in the yolk. The size of the eggs varies among different species: from 1.06 in the big-eyed shad to 4.15 mm in the Volga herring. Polomolobs (genus Alosa, genus Pomolobus) live only in the Atlantic waters of North America. Two species - grayback or elewife (A. pseudoharengus) and blueback (A. aestivalis) - multi-stamened (38-51 rakers on the lower half of the first gill arch), predominantly planktivorous, distributed in more northern areas, from the Gulf of St. Lawrence and Nova Scotia to Cape Hatterasai of North Florida. They reach a length of 38 cm, have a dark blue or gray-green back and silvery sides with a dark spot on both sides behind the top of the operculum (the “shoulder patch”). These are anadromous anadromous fish that stay in schools in the sea near the coast and rise low into rivers to spawn. Spawning in rivers, mainly in April - May. The caviar is bottom, with a small circular yolk space, the shell is weakly adhering, impregnated with particles of silt. Being schooling, these species are of significant commercial importance and, although their numbers have decreased over the last half century, they are still quite numerous. They were also the object artificial breeding: fish close to spawning were planted in tributaries devastated by excessive fishing, which resulted in spawning and the resumption of fish in these tributaries. Greyback was unintentionally successfully introduced along with juvenile shad into Lake Ontario, where it became established, reproduced, and spread from there to other lakes. Two more southern, also close to each other, species of thrush - hickory (A. te-diocris) and greenback (A. chrysochloris) - reach larger sizes: greenback 45 and hickory - 60 cm. Hickory is distributed from the Bay of Fundy, mainly from Cape Cod, to North Florida, greenback - in rivers flowing into the northern Gulf of Mexico, west of Florida.

These species have fewer gill rakers (18-24 on the lower half of the first gill arch) and feed mainly on small fish. Hickory has a row of dark spots on each side of its flanks. Hickory lives in the sea near the coast, entering estuaries and lower rivers in schools to spawn from late April to early June. Lays eggs in the fresh water of rivers in the tidal zone. The caviar is sinking, weakly sticking, but easily swept up by the current; the eggs have a medium-sized circular yolk space; several small fat drops are visible in the yolk. The greenback lives in fast upper tributaries of rivers and descends into brackish water and into the sea. Its spawning and migrations have not been sufficiently studied. HILSA (Hilsa) The genus replaces aloz in tropical waters. Species of this genus are distributed in coastal sea waters and rivers of East Africa, South and Southeast Asia, from Natal to Busan (South Korea). There are 5 species in this genus, which are migratory fish that enter rivers from the sea to spawn. The sleeves are close to alozes in the shape of a laterally compressed body; scaly keel on the belly; fatty eyelids covering the eye in the anterior and posterior thirds; lack of teeth (also poorly developed in many aloz); by the silvery color of the body and the presence in some species of a dark “shoulder” spot on both sides on the side behind the upper edge of the gill cover (juveniles of some species also have a number of dark spots on the side, like a belly). Unlike aloz, sleeves do not have elongated tail scales - “wings” - at the base of the caudal fin; The eggs of the hilsa are semi-pelagic, having a large circular yolk space and floating in the current, like in aloz; unlike aloz eggs, they contain several fat drops in the yolk; The shell of the eggs is single, like the aloz, or double. There are 5 types of sleeves.

GUDUSIA - freshwater fish, very close to anadromous shells. Gudusia are very similar to gilz, but are easily distinguished by their smaller scales (80-100 transverse rows instead of 40-50 for gilz). Gudusia live in the rivers and lakes of Pakistan, Northern India (north of the Kistna River, approximately 16-17° N), and Burma. Gudusia are small fish, up to 14-17 cm in length. There are two known species of this genus - Indian Gudusia (Gudusia chapra) and Burmese Gudusia (G. variegata). COMBEN-SCALED HERRINGS (Brevoortiinae) Subfamily Distinguished from all other herrings by having a comb-like posterior margin and two rows of enlarged scales or scutes along the midline of the back, from the back of the head to the beginning of the dorsal fin. They are also characterized by the presence of 7 rays in the ventral fins. They are close to bellied herrings in the shape of a laterally compressed tall body, with a serrated scale keel along the belly, in the presence of a medial notch in the upper jaw, and in the absence of teeth on the jaws of adults. The structure of menhaden eggs differs from alose, but is close to sardines: their eggs contain a fat drop in the yolk and are pelagic, not hemipelagic. Unlike bellied herrings, comb-scaled herrings are marine fish that live and breed in the sea at a salinity of at least 20°/00. There are three genera of combed herring: menhaden, the closely related machete, and bonga. MENHADEN (Brevoortia) genus is distributed in the coastal waters of the Atlantic coast of America, from Nova Scotia to the Gulf of Mexico and from southern Brazil to Argentina. Menhaden reach a length of 50 cm, the usual length is 30-35 cm. The back is green-blue, the sides are silvery-yellowish, behind the top of the gill cover on both sides of the body there is a black shoulder spot, behind which in some species there is a varying number of smaller dark spots on the sides, often located in two, three or several rows. The pelvic fins of menhaden are small, located under the dorsal fin, and have 7 rays. There are 7 species of menhaden: 3 - off the east coast of North America, from Nova Scotia to Florida, 2 - in the northern Gulf of Mexico, 2 - off the coast of Brazil, from the Rio Grande to the Rio de la Plata. Blunt-nosed or goiter herrings (Dorosomatinae) Subfamily Blunt-nosed or goatee herrings, having a short, high, laterally compressed body, with an abdominal serrated keel of scales, represent a unique group. Unlike all other herrings, their snout is almost always protruding, bluntly rounded; the mouth is small, lower or semi-inferior; the stomach is short, muscular, reminiscent of a bird's crop. The anal fin is quite long, from 18-20 to 28 rays; the pelvic fins are located under the dorsal fins or closer to the dorsal fins towards the anterior end of the body, they have 8 rays. Almost all species have a dark “shoulder” spot on the side, behind the top of the operculum; many, in addition, have 6-8 narrow dark longitudinal stripes along the sides. In most genera and species, the last (posterior) ray of the dorsal fin is extended into a long thread; only in species of two genera (Anodontostoma, Gonialosa) is it not elongated. These are mud-eating and phytoplankton-eating fish of bays, estuaries, rivers of tropical and partly subtropical latitudes, which do not represent much nutritional value due to their bonyness. However, in many areas they are prepared for food, mainly in dried form and in the form of canned food. In total, this group contains 7 genera with 20-22 species. Blunt-nosed herring (or blunt-nosed herring) are common in the waters of North and Central America (genus Dorosoma, 5 species), South and Southeast Asia and Western Oceania (Melanesia) (genera Nematalosa, Anodontostoma, Gonialosa, 7 species in total), East Asia (genera Coposirus, Clupanodon, Nematalosa, 3 species), Australia (genus Nematalosa, 1 species, and Fluvialosa, 7 species). Have more northern species- Japanese Konosir and American Dorosoma - vertebrae 48-51, the rest - 40-46. American Dorosoma (Dorosoma) reaches a length of 52 cm, the usual size is 25-36 cm. Southern Dorosoma (D. petenense) lives from the river. Ohio (approximately 38-39°N) to Florida and the Gulf of Mexico and along the coast south to Honduras. Mexican (D. anale) - in the Atlantic basin of Mexico and Northern Guatemala; Nicaraguan dorosoma (D. chavesi) - in the lakes of Managua and Nicaragua; Western dorosoma (D. smith) lives only in the rivers of Northwestern Mexico. Another species of blunt-nosed herring is found in the Yellow Sea - the Japanese nematalosa (Nematalosa japonica). The remaining species of the genus Nematalosa live off the Indian Ocean coasts of South Asia, from Arabia (N. arabica) to Malaya, and in the Pacific Ocean - off the coasts of Indonesia, Vietnam, the Philippines and Taiwan (N. nasus), as well as in the northwestern coast of Australia (N. come). Nemathaloses live mainly in bays, lagoons and estuaries, and enter rivers.

In the rivers of India and Burma, there live two more species of a special freshwater genus of herring, Gonialosa; These are small fish, up to 10-13 cm in length. Freshwater herring are particularly abundant in Australia. There are up to six species of them here, sometimes separated into a special genus, Fluvialosa. They are common in the rivers and lakes of Australia; some species are small, up to 13-15 cm, others reach a fairly large size, up to 39 cm in length. A seventh species of freshwater fluvialose is found in the upper tributaries of the Strickland River in New Guinea. As mentioned above, along with these freshwater species of snout, there is also one marine coastal species of nematalosa in the waters of Northern Australia (Nematalosa come). Keel-necked or Saw-bellied herrings (Pristigasterinae) Subfamily This group of purely tropical genera of herring fishes is characterized by a strongly laterally compressed body, pointed along the ventral edge, with a saw-toothed “abdominal keel of scales extending forward to the throat. Almost everyone has an upper or semi-upper mouth. Their anal fin is long, containing more than 30 rays; pelvic fins are small (in Pellona and Ilisha) or absent (in other genera). This group includes 8 genera with 37 species. In appearance, different genera of saw-bellied herring represent different stages of specialization. The least specialized and somewhat reminiscent in appearance of aloz or gilz are the already mentioned fish of the genera Pellona and Ilisha.

They have pelvic and dorsal fins, the body is high or of medium height, the anal fin contains from 33 to 52 rays and usually begins behind the middle of the body. Pellona is widely distributed along the coasts of the Indian Ocean, reaching as far south as any other saw-bellied herring: in the west to Natal off Southeast Africa, in the east to the Gulf of Carpentaria and Queensland (Australia). It is numerous off the eastern coast of India. The genus Ilisha contains about 60% of the total number of saw-bellied herring species - 23 species. 14 species of ilish live off the coasts of India, Indochina and Indonesia, of which 4 are distributed further north, along Southeast Asia up to the South China Sea; further north, in the East China Sea, two species are found, and in the Yellow and Japanese Seas there is one. Of the remaining 5 genera of saw-bellied herring, three genera are American, found either only off the Pacific coast of Central America (genus Pliosteostoma), or represented by one species in Pacific waters and one or two species in Atlantic waters (genera Odontognathus, Neoopisthopterus). One genus (Opisthopterus) is represented by three species off the Pacific coast of the Isthmus of Panama and Ecuador and two species in the Indian Ocean and the southwestern Pacific Ocean, off the coasts of India, Indochina and Indonesia.